Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-21T12:49:57.142Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The political use of victimhood: Spanish collective memory of ETA through the war on terror paradigm

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2020

Charlotte Heath-Kelly Open the ORCID record for Charlotte Heath-Kelly [Opens in a new window]  and
Laura Fernández de Mosteyrín
Charlotte Heath-Kelly*
Affiliation:
Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick
Laura Fernández de Mosteyrín
Affiliation:
Department of Law and Criminology, Universidad a Distancia de Madrid
*
*Corresponding author. Email: c.heath-kelly@warwick.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Victims have become a topic of scholarly debate in conflict studies, especially regarding the impact of their activism on the evolution and termination of violence. Victims of terrorism are now enlisted within counter-terrorism, given their moral authority as spokespeople for counter-narratives and de-escalation. Our research explores how Spanish terrorism victims’ associations have evolved across eras of political violence and how they mediate the translation of international War on Terror discourses into Spanish counter-terrorism. We offer a topography of how the War on Terror has opened a ‘social front’ in Spanish counter-terrorism, with Spanish political elites prominently employing the victims’ associations to this end. Contemporary terrorism discourses are read back onto the memory of ETA, with victims’ associations assisting the equation of ETA with al-Qaeda and ISIS. Collective memory of the defeat of ETA has also contributed the veneer of ‘lessons learned’ to contemporary counter-terrorism measures. Our research explores the fluidity of terrorism-memory and the importation of global terrorism discourses into Spanish politics, relying upon interviews with key stakeholders in victims’ associations, local politics, and the research director of the new Victims of Terrorism Memorial Centre in Vitoria.

Keywords

Counter-terrorismVictimsCounter-narrativesDepoliticisationCollective MemorySpain
Type
Research Article
Information
Review of International Studies , Volume 47 , Issue 1 , January 2021 , pp. 1 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © British International Studies Association 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Lynch, Orla and Argomániz, Javier (eds), Victims of Terrorism: A Comparative and Interdisciplinary Study (London: Routledge, 2017)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Muro, Diego, ‘Healing through action?: The political mobilization of victims of Al Qaeda-inspired violence in Spain and the United Kingdom’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 38:6 (2015), pp. 478–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

2 Heath-Kelly, Charlotte, ‘Survivor trees and memorial groves: Vegetal commemoration of victims of terrorism in Europe and the United States’, Political Geography, 64 (May 2018), pp. 63–72CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3 Fominaya, Cristina Flesher and Barberet, Rosemary, ‘The right to commemoration and “ideal victims”: The puzzle of victim dissatisfaction with State-led commemoration after 9/11 and 3/11’, Critical Studies on Terrorism, 11:2 (2018), pp. 219–412CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

4 Anderson, Wayne, The ETA: Spain's Basque Terrorists (New York: Rosen, 2003), pp. 5–6Google Scholar.

5 Whitfield, Theresa, Endgame for ETA: Elusive Peace in the Basque Country (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. 38–9Google Scholar.

6 Ibid.

7 Tsui, Chin-Kuei, Clinton, New Terrorism and the Origins of the War on Terror (Abingdon: Routledge, 2016)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

8 Crenshaw, Martha (ed.), Terrorism in Context (Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995)Google Scholar; Porta, Donatella Della, Social Movements, Political Violence and the State: A Comparative Analysis of Italy and Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Miller, Reuben, ‘The literature of terrorism’, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 11:1 (2008), pp. 63–87Google Scholar; Pape, Robert, Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Bombing (New York: Random House, 2006)Google Scholar.

9 Walker, Clive, The Prevention of Terrorism in British Law (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992)Google Scholar.

10 Crenshaw, Martha, ‘The debate over “new” vs. “old” terrorism’, Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics and Culture, 10:1 (2003), pp. 48–54Google Scholar; Laqueur, Walter, The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999)Google Scholar.

11 Stampnitsky, Lisa, Disciplining Terror: How Experts Invented ‘Terrorism’ (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

12 Kundnani, Arun and Hayes, Ben, The Globalisation of Countering Violent Extremism Policies (New York: TNI, 2018)Google Scholar.

13 Wieviorka, Anette, The Era of Witness (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006)Google Scholar.

14 Lynch and Argomániz (eds), Victims of Terrorism.

15 Muro, ‘Healing through action?’.

16 Gabriel Gatti, David Casado-Neira, Ignacio Irazuzta, Maria Martinez, Sandrine Revet, Jaume Peris Blanes, and Josebe Martinez, Un mundo de víctimas (Barcelona: Anthropos, 2017); Serrano, Ágata, ‘La lucha social contra el terrorismo: testimonios de algunas víctimas de ETA’, Eguzkilore cuaderno del Instituto Vasco de Criminología, 26 (2012), pp. 253–79Google Scholar.

17 Alonso, Rogelio, ‘Victims of ETA's terrorism as an interest group: Evolution, influence, and impact on the political agenda of Spain’, Terrorism and Political Violence, 29:6 (2017), pp. 985–1005CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

18 Laura Fernández de Mosteyrín, ‘La guerra contra el terror y la transformación de los umbrales de violencia tolerada: un estudio de la violencia en el País Vasco (1998–2010)’ (PhD dissertation, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2013), ISBN: 9788461752034.

19 Argómaniz, Javier, ‘A battle of narratives: Spanish victims organisations international action to delegitimise terrorism and political violence’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 41:7 (2017), pp. 573–88CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

20 Ioannis Tellidis, ‘Peacebuilding beyond terrorism? Revisiting the narratives of the Basque conflict’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism (2018), available at: {https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2018.1452794}.

21 Agata Serranò, ‘The Evolution and Protection of the Rights of Victims of Terrorism in Spain’, paper presented to the European Consortium of Political Research, Bordeaux, 2013, available at: {https://ecpr.eu/Filestore/PaperProposal/0d9a078b-e975-4a20-8d98-61c6e10c4c88.pdf} last accessed 3 March 2020.

22 Sanz, Adrián Tarín and Otero, José Manuel Rivas, ‘Leadership styles and war and peace policies in the Spanish-Basque conflict: A discourse analysis of José María Aznar and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’, Social Sciences, 7:68 (2018)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

23 Funes, María Jesús, ‘Social responses to political violence in the Basque Country: Peace movements and their audiences’, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 42:4 (1998), pp. 493–510CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

24 Ibid.

25 Tellidis, ‘Peacebuilding beyond terrorism’.

26 McAdam, Doug, Tarrow, Sidney, and Tilly, Charles, Dynamics of Contention (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

27 Fernández de Mosteyrín, ‘La guerra contra el terror y la transformación de los umbrales de violencia tolerada’.

28 Laura Fernández de Mosteyrín, ‘Communication as legitimation in Spanish CVE: Bringing lessons from the past’, in A. Martini, K. Ford, and R. Jackson (eds), Encountering Extremism: A Critical Examination of Theoretical Issues and Local Challenges (Manchester: Manchester University Press, forthcoming).

29 According to COVITE's Observatory of Radicalization there were 399 acts of terrorist legitimation between 2016 and 2020 in the form of homages, paintings, or demonstrations in favour of prisoners amnesty. See: {https://covite.org/observatorio/}.

30 Pierre-Guittet, Emmanuel, ‘Is consensus a genuine democratic value? The case of Spain's political pacts against terrorism’, Alternatives, 33:3 (2008), pp. 267–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

31 Whitefield, Teresa, Endgame for ETA: Elusive Peace in the Basque Country (London: Hurst, 2014)Google Scholar.

32 Euskobarómetro, ‘Informe del Centro Memorial de las Víctimas del Terrorismo. La Sociedad Vasca ande la Memoria del las Víctimas y el Final del Terrorismo’ (2 July 2017), available at: {https://www.ehu.eus/documents/1457190/1547454/informe+centro+memorial+y+euskobarometro.pdf/8c93924f-20f7-44c4-a4fb-25153f816202} accessed 28 October 2019.

33 Jackson, Richard, Writing the War on Terror: Language, Politics and Counterterrorism (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005)Google Scholar.

34 Duyvesteyn, Isabelle, ‘How new is the new terrorism?’, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 27:5 (2004), pp. 439–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Walter Laqueur, The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).

35 Argomániz, Javier and Lynch, Orla, ‘Introduction to the Special Issue: The complexity of terrorism – victims, perpetrators and radicalization’, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 41:7 (2018), pp. 491–506CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

36 Author's fieldwork interview with President of the Foro de Ermua. Madrid, November 2004.

37 Pierre-Guittet, ‘Is consensus a genuine democratic value?’.

38 José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, former president of Spanish government, quoted in Garzòn, Baltasar, La Lucha contra el Terrorismo y sus Límites (Madrid: Adahara Editorial, 2006), p. 24Google Scholar.

39 Fominaya, Cristina Flesher, ‘The Madrid bombings and popular protest: Misinformation, counter-information, mobilisation and elections after “11-M”’, Contemporary Social Science, 6:3 (2011), pp. 289–307CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

40 Author's interview with activist of Foro de Ermua, Madrid, December 2009.

41 Rosa Díez, UPYD elected politician, quoted in Garzón, La Lucha contra el Terrorismo, pp. 103–04.

42 Alonso, ‘Victims of ETA's terrorism as an interest group’.

43 Argomániz, ‘A battle of narratives’.

44 Asociación Víctimas Terrorismo, ‘Desafíos del terrorismo actual’ (conferencia dirigida a la AVT por el General M. A Ballesteros, director del Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos, 2012), available at: {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_GwQ1RVqqQ} accessed 1 September 2019.

45 Instituto de Seguridad y Cultura, Interview with former director of the Spanish National Police Agency, CNP (12 June 2017), available at: {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou0l1eDvGto}.

46 Spanish Counterterrorist and Organized Crime Intelligence Agency (CITCO) personnel, broadcasted seminar (Real Instituto Elcano, 2017), 40 mins.

47 Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, Gobierno de España, ‘Informe Anual de Seguridad Nacional’ (2017), available at: {https://www.dsn.gob.es/es/actualidad/sala-prensa/aprobacion-del-informe-anual-seguridad-nacional} accessed 1 September 2019.

48 Ibid., p. 26.

49 Boletín Oficial del Estado, Gobierno de España, ‘Ley 29/2011 de 22 de Septiembre, de Reconocimiento y Protección Integral a las Víctimas del Terrorismo’ (BOE núm. 229, de 23 de septiembre de 2011), p. 0100566, emphasis added by author. Available at: {https://www.boe.es/eli/es/l/2011/09/22/29}.

50 de Mosteyrín, Laura Fernández and Limón, Pedro, ‘Paradigmas y Políticas de Seguridad: una aproximación al Plan Estratégico Nacional de Lucha contra la Radicalización Violenta PEN-LCRV 2015’, Política y Sociedad, 54:3 (2017), pp. 805–27Google Scholar.

51 See: {http://www.memorialvt.com/en/} accessed 10 September 2019.

52 Interview by the author with the research director at the Victims of Terrorism Memorial Centre, Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2018.

53 Interior, Ministerio del, de España, Gobierno, ‘Informe de la Comisión de Expertos para la definición del Centro para la Memoria de las Víctimas del Terrorismo’ (Madrid: Ministerio del Interior, 2015)Google Scholar.

54 Ibid., p. 9.

55 Ibid., emphasis added.

56 Baer, Alejandro and Sznaider, Natan, ‘Ghosts of the Holocaust in Franco's mass graves: Cosmopolitan memories and the politics of “never again”’, Memory Studies, 8:3 (2015), pp. 328–44CrossRefGoogle Scholar; see also Alexander, Jeffrey C., ‘Culture trauma, morality and solidarity: The social construction of “Holocaust” and other mass murders’, Thesis Eleven, 132:1 (2016), pp. 3–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

57 Armengou, M. and Belis, R., Las fosas delsilencio ¿Hay un Holocausto español? (Barcelona: Debolsillo, 2005)Google Scholar; Preston, Paul, El Holocausto español: Odio y exterminio en la Guerra Civil y después (Barcelona: Debate, 2011)Google Scholar.

58 Sánchez-León, Pablo, ‘Past jihads, citizenship and regimes of memory in modern Spain’, European Review, 24:4 (2017), pp. 535–57CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

59 Ibid.

60 After the conclusion of our data collection in 2018, very interesting developments have taken place in Spain. Franco has been exhumed from his resting place in the ‘Valley of the Fallen’ and political discussions are beginning about the criminalisation of ‘apologies for Francoism’. Such recent developments are unfortunately beyond our scope: our article only tells the story of Spanish counter-terrorism, victims and memory up to 2018.

61 COVITE, ‘COVITE Requires the Basque Government to Withdraw its Teaching Units For Not Complying with the Basque Law on Victims of Terrorism’ (15 November 2018), available at: {https://covite.org/destacada/covite-exige-al-gobierno-vasco-que-retire-sus-unidades-didacticas-por-no-ajustarse-a-la-ley-vasca-de-victimas-del-terrorismo/} accessed 1 September 2019. For further debate on the emergence of organized violence in opposition to Francoist regime during the seventies, see Zulaika, Joseba, Basque Violence: Metaphor and Sacrament (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1988)Google Scholar; Baby, Sophie, Compagnon, Oliver, and Calleja, Eduardo González, Violencia y transiciones políticas a finales del siglo XX: Europa del Sur y América Latina (Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 2009)Google Scholar; Sanchez-Cuenca, , Ignacio, , ‘The dynamics of nationalist terrorism: ETA and the IRA’, Terrorism and Political Violence, 19:3 (2007), pp. 289–306CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Sánchez-Cuenca, Ignacio, Historical Roots of Political Violence: Revolutionary Terrorism in Affluent Countries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

62 Ramos quoted in Laura Caro, ‘Today we have to learn what terrorism is’, ABC Spain (26 November 2018), available at: {https://www.abc.es/espana/abci-toca-aprender-terrorismo-201811250328_noticia.html#disqus_thread} accessed 11 July 2019), emphasis added.

63 Bildu is a radical Basque nationalist coalition of parties, part of whose societal basis is the izquierda abertzale (nationalist/Independent left). It currently holds four seats at the Spanish Parliament (2019). Some of its members are however, considered the heir of a family of political formations that were banned by the Spanish Political Parties Act (2002).

64 Author's interview with Research Director at the Victims of Terrorism Memorial Centre, Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2018.

65 Ibid.

66 Baker-Beall, Christopher, Heath-Kelly, Charlotte, and Jarvis, Lee (eds), Counter-Radicalisation: Critical Perspectives (Abingdon: Routledge, 2014)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Home Office, ‘Channel Duty Guidance: Protecting Vulnerable People from Being Drawn into Terrorism: Statutory Guidance for Channel Panel Members and Partners of Local Panels’ (London: HM Government, 2015).

67 Publico, ‘Víctimas de la dictadura piden a Rajoy “memoria” para todos los afectados por terrorismo’, Publico (23 May 2015), available at: {https://www.publico.es/politica/victimas-dictadura-piden-rajoy-memoria.html} accessed 12 July 2019.

68 Natxo Gaton, ‘Rajoy descubre entre gritos la placa del Memorial de las Víctimas’, Gastiez Hoy (24 March 2015), available at: {https://www.gasteizhoy.com/el-ministro-de-interior-inaugura-en-villa-suso-la-primera-exposicion-del-memorial-de-las-victimas/} accessed 12 July 2019.

69 Hala Bedi Irratia, ‘Querella alavesa y centro de memoria, las medidas que proponen las víctimas del franquismo a las instituciones’, Hala Bedi (22 March 2018), available at: {https://halabedi.eus/eu/querella-memoria/} accessed 21 July 2019.

70 Flesher Fominaya, ‘The Madrid bombings and popular protest’.